Traveling To The West

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorCollege, Undergraduate February 2008

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In the journeys of the three groups; the Native Americans, the aspiring settlers of Oregon, and the Mormons, all three groups were going west. They all left their family and friends behind and the land they've lived on for so long to move to a new land unfamiliar to them. However, each group went for different reasons, and therefore they each had a different state of mind and they each reacted differently to the trip.

In the trail of tears, the Native Americans were being forced off the land they've lived on for many years, in order to make room for other settlers to move in. Thus, they left in sadness and sorrow for they had no choice in the matter. Additionally, they did not know what to look forward to, because the land they were to be given; Oklahoma, was unknown to them. They were taken off their land brutally and treated without respect.

Moreover, they were captured by the army and kept in the camps like criminals. Thus, most of these men were very sad to leave the land of their fathers; to them, any other land would not be the same. Additionally, a lot of the Cherokees died or got sick on the way, and thus their family members reluctantly had to leave them behind.

On the Oregon Trail, most of the people going were exited about finding new places to live, and thus they went by choice. Some went reluctantly, leaving behind loved ones, yet all had the same adventurous excitement about the journey that would bring them to their new homes. Although the trip wasn't entirely pleasant, because people died along the way and the journey was long, hard, and sometimes dangerous, they were not forced to leave like the Native Americans.